Memento Mori
by angryHarlequin
Summary: After losing her previous captain, Artoria Vicinity swore that she would stay home. But once you become a child of the sea, the sense of adventure is always with you.
1. The Arrival at Snow Fell

**Bitchin'! I think I'm actually happy with this now! So here's the first chapter, tell me your thoughts or if I made any mistakes. (I swear I proof read this thing six times!) I'm sorry if the formatting might be a little odd. **

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It had been a few weeks after the end of Whitebeard's era. While other Supernova crews were running off towards the New World, a few crews chose to stay behind. One of these crews specifically were the Heart Pirates.  
"Bepo, what is the name of the next island?" Law asked, leaning against the polar bear on the deck of their submarine.  
"It's a winter island called Snow Fell," the bear replied staring up at the cloudless blue sky. "We might have trouble when we dock there though."  
"Oh? How so?" Law asked as he raised an eyebrow and looked at his fuzzy companion.  
"It seems that the owners of the land are heavily monitoring the docks for any...unwanted visitors." Bepo sighed as he looked over at his captain, "we'll be arriving within the next few hours so we'll see." Law nodded at the bear's words, turning his head to see the land mass dotting the horizon.

"Master! Pirates appear to be approaching!" A gruff man's voiced echoed from a Den Den Mushi. The person on the receiving end just let out a sigh, a puff of steam escaping their mouth.  
"Very well, I'll be over there shortly. Hold them off until I'm done here." They said and hung up the snail before getting confirmation on the other end, they then turned their attention to the two citizens huddled in heavy cotton blankets in front of her. "I'm sorry. Please tell me what you saw."

Law was currently on the deck of his sub watching with amusement as two burly men, up top equally burly horses were discussing amongst each other. The pair were wearing uniforms which consisted of thick black coats with, what Law assumed to be the Island owner's crest on the right breast. They wore heavy black pants tucked into heavy steel toed combat boots, they also wore hats that concealed their facial features and hair. The Supernova captain raised a brow as the men soon played a few rounds of 'Rock, Paper, Scissors', the one on the left lost the game and with a heavy sigh dismounted his horse and walked up to the now docked sub.

"Excuse me Sir. May I speak to the Captain of your vessel?" The guard spoke looking up at Law, who wore an amused smirk. The pirate captain leaned over the railing,  
"Speaking." He said, crossing his arms over the railing. He saw the man stiffen slightly.  
"V-Very well. Ehem, under direct orders of Master Artoria, no pirates are allowed to leave their vessels until the Master meets with said pirates personally." Law's smirk swiftly turned into a frown. He didn't want to wait around until some fat, snobby, narcissistic noble to appear. Law let out an annoyed sigh, he didn't want to cause any unwanted trouble.  
"Fine, how long until Master Artoria shows himself?" The spotted capped Captain asked, the guard looked towards the other, who just gave a shrug.  
"We called..." The guard hesitated, should he reveal the correct gender of Artoria now? He decided against it, "Master Artoria just before you docked, the young Master said it would be only a few minutes." He said, watching the pirate let out another sigh. "I apologize. The Master is finishing up a small matter, but should be here soon." Law nodded and pushed himself off the railing, and turned to inform a member of the crew to update the others on what's going on.

"We're sorry ma'am. That's all we saw." The young man said, looking at the ground in front of the noble woman, on top of her equally noble black Andalusian horse.  
"That's fine Mr. Inoue. Little information on the beast is better than none. I thank you for telling me." The woman shook her head, "if you, or anyone else, sees the beast again don't hesitate to notify the guards. In the meantime, please stay safe inside your homes." The young couple looked up at the heiress in admiration,  
"Thank you Ma'am." The young woman said and gave a deep bow, "may you have a safe trip home." She smiled up at the woman, who returned her smile.  
"Thank you Ms. Linfield." Artoria directed her horse to turn around and headed off towards the docks at full speed, causing dirt and snow to be kicked up behind her.

"Got any threes?" Penguin asked, looking at the three other Heart members he was playing with. All of them shook their heads. The entire crew was up on deck now awaiting the arrival of Artoria, Law had asked the guard before to tell them more about their 'young master' but the guard said that he could not reveal any details due to orders and retreated back to his friend and horse. As he mounted the horse, the pair turned so their backs were facing the pirates and began discussing amongst themselves.  
"Man, when is the noble supposed to get here?!" Shachi complained and fell over on his back, some of the other members were murmuring in agreement. Law remained leaning against the railing, his eyes trained on the guards.

"Man, that Trafalgar guy just keeps watching us..." The guard on the left muttered, not turning his back to meet the gaze of the supernova captain.  
"Yeah, it's super creepy," the other shuddered, "I hope Master Artoria gets here soon. I don't know what'll happen to us if he gets too impatient..." The guard on the left nodded swiftly. The sound of heavy and fast hoof beats bought the attention of the guards, they looked up and straightened their posture for the oncoming figure. The figure; wearing a thick black coat dress, white tights which had become dirty due to the saddle, black knee-high boots, and a combination head wrap and hat that hid her hair completely but her pale pink eyes were visible. As the woman became closer the two men saluted and looked ahead of them, not making eye contact with the young woman. Only when she stopped in front of them and held up her gloved hand, did they relax.

"Is that them?" She whispered, looking past the guards who quickly nodded and made eye contact with the amused man on the railing, "Trafalgar Law..." She whispered again, a small smile on her face, "that man saved Luffy and Jinbe..." She muttered and nudged her horse to continue down the dock.  
"Hello Captain Law." The young woman said up to the pirate, "I'm sorry about the wait!" She placed her right hand over her heart and gave a quick bow, "I'm Artoria Vicinity." Law smirked down at the woman, interest apparent on his face.  
"I was wondering when you would show up. Your guards said nothing about you being a woman." He said with a smirk, the term 'woman' piqued the interest of the rest of Heart Pirates and soon the entire crew was at the railing, looking at the noble woman. Hiding her smile behind her hand as she responded to the pirate,  
"You're the man who saved Jinbe and Luffy at Marineford, yeah?" She asked, the Dark Doctor looked down at her,  
"How do you know that?"  
"I'll explain everything up at my place. Please accompany me." She offered, bowing again. "It'll do us all good to get out of this cold." She smiled. Before Law could say anything Artoria turned her attention to the two guards, "call up the wagon! And tell Ofuri to prepare some coffee, tea, and some hot food. Oh to prepare the guest bedrooms too!" The two guards were skeptical but did as they were told, turning her attention back at the captain, she frowned. The Surgeon of Death was glaring down at her. "It would be wise to take up the offer, none of the businesses are open due to a wild beast running rampant as of late and I'm willingly to supply you and your crew free of charge." She said, some of the crew members were whispering amongst one another,  
"Why?" Law asked, his eyes looking between the pair of pale pink eyes before him, they seemed too familiar, but where has he seen them before? Meanwhile Artoria's eyes never broke contact from Law's, but a small frown was etched onto her face.  
"I know for a fact that all pirates aren't as terrible like everyone else says." She said, a determined look on her face. "If you don't want to then that's fine..." She began to direct her horse back the way she came. Digging her heels into the sides of her horse, her companion began walking back towards the mainland. Law watched the retreating figure mulling over if he should accept the noble's offer, or not.

"Master Artoria? Should we call off the-" the left guard began but was cut off by a feminine gloved hand.  
"No." She said sternly, _three...two..._  
"We'll take you up on your offer!" Law bellowed, Artoria smirked before turning her horse back around.  
"How wise of you, the carriage should be here soon. If you and your crew wish to gather some belongings. I'll meet you at the-"  
"No." Law interrupted the noble who, in return, glared up at the Supernova captain.  
"Excuse me?"  
"I wish to have your company while we ride up there." Law stated a wide smirk on his face, glaring down at the noble.  
"Very well," Artoria whispered as she directed her horse back onto the mainland.  
"Is that a wise idea, Artoria?" The right guard asked in a low tone, as she came closer to the pair, she stopped her horse so she was in between the guards, and effectively blocking off the entryway to the dock.  
"I don't see why not. The businesses aren't running, and I don't want any more deaths in this town." Artoria said as she looked straight ahead, "did you two contact Ofuri?" The duo nodded,  
"He sent Sebastian down with the largest wagon." The trio looked up and down the road, a team of five horses could be seen pulling a rather large wagon. "I hear it's going to snow again tonight," The man on the left stated not looking away from the oncoming horse team. Artoria let out a sigh, a puff of steam exiting her mouth.  
"So it is." Hearing someone clearing their throat behind her, Artoria twisted her back to look at the Surgeon of Death. "The wagon is almost here." She stated, and casually scanned her eyes over the Heart Pirates. She had heard a lot about them, as well as the other Supernova crews, while she was out at sea. Her eyes stopped on a bipedal bear in an orange jumpsuit and small brown boots. _A Bear_? She blinked in surprise, the bear in question sensed her eyes on him and bowed his head down.  
"I'm sorry," the bear muttered as an aura of depression began to radiate off him. Artoria stiffened slightly and slowly faced forward again. The entire group stood awkwardly and silently until the wagon stopped a few yards ahead of them. A young man with a pink scarf and the same black uniform as the dock guards, shyly waved over at the group.

"Sorry Master Artoria, I couldn't find my scarf!" The man said as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.  
"That's not a problem," she responded a small chuckle in her voice. She nudged her horse forward, to allow the Heart Pirates to file off the dock and make their way onto the back of the wagon. Surprisingly enough all of them were able to fit, even the rather larger man of the crew.

As they began their departure, Artoria momentarily stayed behind to tell the guards something. Their discussion didn't last long and she caught up to them just before the wagon started to ascend up the hill. Law sat at the front of wagon, his back parallel to Sebastian's. The bear sat on the captain's left side, Law's nodachi resting on its lap. The rest of the crew situated themselves on the benches on the sides of the wagon, their knapsacks nestled in between their legs. The largest crew member sat in the middle of the wagon. Due to the added weight, the five horse team had a slight effort in pulling the cart, Artoria held back a sigh. At this rate it'll be nightfall by the time they reach the manor.

"So, about this beast you talked about earlier..." Law said, his grey eyes looking over at pale pink ones.  
"The villagers have named the beast Amarok," she said looking ahead, "no one is sure if the beast is actually a giant wolf or not. It could be a giant..." her eyes shifted over to the talking polar bear who locked eyes with her, giving her a curious stare back, "a giant bear." She coughed and looked forward again. "But it has taken the lives of at least ten citizens so far." Artoria explained, "another thing is that the beast seems to come out of it's lair during snowstorms," her eyes scanning the tree line as if looking for the wild beast itself.

The trees were white and bare, so it wasn't to hard to see deep within the barren forest that separated the manor and the edge of the town. It was also relatively easy to see a clump of black fur that was lodged in the crook of a lower branch, Law was about to ask another question but stopped as he observed Artoria directing her horse over to the tree line. She got as close as she could and pulled the fur out from it's holding, causing a few strands to float away in the slight breeze. Sebastian also noticed the actions of the noble and stopped the wagon.  
"Master Artoria?" He questioned, the noble came back to the wagon's side.  
"I think it's wolf's fur." She muttered, and ran her thumb over the wad of fur, "but I can't be to certain..." she continued. The Heart Pirate's bear member reached his paw out towards Artoria's hand. Taking the hint, she placed the fur delicately in the bear's paw. "_How could this bear tell me what kind of animal...unless it talks!_" She thought and watched the bear intently as he sniffed the fur a couple of times.  
"You're correct. It's wolf fur." He reported and handed the fur back to the female, who nodded.  
"Thank you..."  
"Oh! I'm Bepo, Master Artoria." Bepo said, and gave her a short bow. Artoria covered her mouth with her free hand and laughed,  
"Don't worry about formalities please. Just calling me Artoria is fine enough," she smiled at the bear, who returned her smile.  
"Another question Artoria-ya," Law started and Artoria's smile fell,  
'_I know I said no formalities, but that's a tad rude..._' She thought,  
"Why are you so friendly towards pirates?"  
"Ah, I've always been around various pirate crews. Some of the more high powered ones too," Artoria smiled going into a small trip down memory lane. "I always traveled with my father when he went out on expeditions, and I just became attached to some crews." She confessed as she lightly shrugged her shoulders.  
"Which crews have you been in contact with?" Law asked, tilting his head at the female. She gave him a wry smile in return,  
"That's diving a little too deep, Mr. Trafalgar." She quipped, earning a slight snarl from the Supernova. Before Law could insult the noble, her horse started to jerk about.

"Woah!" She yelled and pulled on the reins to try and calmed down the spooked horse, this caused the horse to take a few steps back and rear up. "Shit!" Artoria muttered as she maintained her balance on the horse. When the horse's front hoofs landed on the ground, the horse continued to make sporadic movements. "Shhh, shhh Mere. That's enough girl." She attempted to comfort the frightened mare. "_She must be sensing something..._" Artoria thought and hastily began to look out in the surrounding forest. Due to the setting sun, the visibility of within the forest was much more limited than before.

"Sebastian! We need to hurry!" Artoria shouted over the loud neighing of not only her horse, but the others as well. Sebastian only nodded in response and cracked the whips, signaling the horses to go as fast as they could.

The pirates on board the wagon had to grip onto the edges of the wagon. The man in the middle had the most difficulty trying to find something he could grab on. Law watched as Artoria still struggled to have her horse remain calm. The captain turned his head towards the carriage driver, Sebastian.  
"Do you know any other information about this Amarok beast, Sebastian-ya?"  
"Afraid not, Mr. Trafalgar. We just know that it's becoming more brave every night. Artoria attempted to attack Amarok, but the beast really got her good!" He said, not looking away from the road. His face suddenly paled at the information he just gave Law, "I really shouldn't have said that last part..." He muttered. Now taking a short opportunity to glance at Law, who held an amused smirk.  
"So she can fight?" He inquired, Sebastian only nodded in response. "What weapons does she use?"  
"A broadsword mainly, and a pair of twin pistols that have been passed down through her family."  
"You're willing to give out a lot of information about Artoria-ya."  
"Well I already told you that she has fought the beast, so I'll only answer questions based on her fighting. If you want to ask about what pirate crews she knows or any family related questions, I'm afraid I won't tell you that information. You'll have to get that out of Artoria herself." Sebastian said, glancing at the tree lines. "_Hopefully the beast won't show itself tonight._" He thought, urging the horses to try and go faster. They still had a long way to go and the sun has already begun to set. Turning his head, he spotted Artoria catching up. Letting out a sigh of relief, Sebastian turned his attention back to the road in front of him. Only causing him to pull back the reins harshly, his breath catching in his throat. The horses began to let out terrifying neighs. The sudden jerk caused a majority of the Heart Pirates to fall out of the seats and onto the cold snowy ground. Law adjusted his hat and turned to glare at Sebastian, but what he saw before them stopped him from yelling at the young man.

Before the horse team stood a large black wolf. It stood at least double the height of one of the horses that was pulling the wagon. The beast's eyes were a piercing electric blue. The beast was snarling, bloody foam dripping from it's mouth. A loud, earth shuddering growl was released from it's throat.

"Amarok." Sebastian whispered.


	2. Amarok Vs Artoria

Artoria had noticed the beast's appearance and stopped her horse. "_Shit!_" She thought and jumped off Mere, landing gracefully in the snow.  
"Time for round two I suppose," she muttered and held out her right hand.

At this point, Law had turned around to watch Artoria. He raised his brow in both curiosity and amusement. Sebastian had said that one of Artoria's main weapons was a broadsword, yet he saw nothing like that on the young woman's figure. The Supernova didn't even see anything that represented pistols either. When she raised her right hand he became even more curious. "_Devil fruit?_" He thought as a bunch of electrical sparks began emitting from her hand, the sound of the snapping bought the attention of Amarok, Sebastian, and the rest of the Heart Pirates.  
"Whoa, is that a devil fruit power?" One of the crewmen asked. Law looked back at Sebastian who just kept his mouth shut,  
"Not sayin' anything..." He muttered, not wanting to get into any trouble. Law rolled his eyes and focused back on Artoria, who had now summoned a broadsword out of thin air.  
"That _has_ to be a devil fruit." Another crewmen said, others were nodding.

Artoria gripped the handle of her sword and with a flick her wrist, a surge of electrical sparks coursed down the blade. Artoria began to run towards Amarok at full speed. Swinging the heavy, electrified broadsword behind her, she arced it and began to bring it down upon the wolf's head.  
"_She's very fast..._" Law observed as he watched as Amarok caught her blade in his mouth. Dangling from the hilt of the sword, Artoria released her left hand and held it out towards the wolf. In another flash of light, a pistol appeared in her hand. She fired an endless amount of rounds into Amarok's throat. Blood started ricocheting off the bullet wounds and onto Artoria, creating a stark contrast between Artoria's pale complexion and the crimson blood. The growls Amarok let out allowed more blood to flow out of the wound and onto the snowy ground, that didn't stop Artoria from continuing to pump lead into the wolf's throat.

Having enough of that, Amarok whipped his head in the direction of the tree line, letting go of Artoria's sword in the process. Maintaining her grip again, Artoria maneuvered her body so that her feet would be the first thing to touch the trees. The force that Amarok had sent the young woman at, made her hit countless trees, stopping a good 30 feet from the tree line.

With Artoria out of the way, Amarok focused his attention at the rest of the group.

"Don't ignore me, you oversized flea bag!" Artoria howled as she charged out of damaged woods, her sword grazing the top layer of snow. At this point her tights had become ripped up and her coat had received tears on the back. The skirt portion of the coat was becoming progressively more tattered as result of being thrown into the trees. Amarok lunged towards the noble, Artoria reacted quickly and jumped onto the muzzle of the beast. Amarok's head snapped up in an attempt to throw her off. Artoria stabbed her sword through the top of the beat's jaw to secure herself, this caused a howl of pain to erupt from the giant canine. Amarok began shaking his head more violently to attempt to get rid of the swordswoman on his muzzle. It only cause Artoria to sink her sword deeper into the wound as she put more pressure onto it. More whines and whimpers were heard from the beast as its pain was intensified. Artoria was now sitting on the beast's muzzle, her legs were firmly wrapped around her blade, causing the sharp edges to bite into her skin. Mixing her blood with Amarok's. In a swift action, Artoria let go of the blade's hilt with her left hand, summoning the pistol from before. This time she took aim at Amarok's right eye, and with a series of rapid firing she proceeded to blind the wolf. Another earth shattering howl escaped from Amarok as he flipped onto his back in attempts of squishing Artoria. As the wolf was in the process of flipping over, Artoria dismissed her weapons and attempted to jump off. Her wounded thighs gave out on her and she toppled over with the beast, effectively crushing her and knocking her out. After sensing the pain had seized, Amarok flipped back up and dashed back into the forest.

"Artoria!" Sebastian hollered as he jumped off the driver's seat and rushed to the noble's side. "Stay with me girl," he whispered and picked her up, bridal style. All the while Law and the rest of the Heart Pirates had watched the battle intently.  
"That was pretty cool." A crewmen had said, "Do you think she's going to be alright Captain?" he asked, looking at the man in question.  
"It's tough to say, those thigh wounds look pretty bad…if she doesn't get treatment soon she might die." He said.  
"It's tough to kill her." Sebastian muttered as he set Artoria up next to him, her head resting in his lap. "When she fought Amarok last, her whole…actually never mind. I already told you too much." He muttered and ushered the horses to continue their journey up the road, Artoria's horse kept pace with the wagon at its side.  
"Sebastian-ya, I'm a doctor. It would probably be for the best if I take a look at her wounds now." Law said, glancing at the sleeping noble before looking back at the straight-faced driver.  
"No can do Mr. Trafalgar."  
"She might die from blood loss." Law stated bluntly, the driver shrugged.  
"Under orders." He stated, "From Artoria herself." Before Law could give a rebuttal, Sebastian pulled out a Den Den Mushi and began to call someone.  
"Hello?" An old voice croaked over the receiver.  
"Ofuri, Artoria had a run in with Amarok. Her legs are all cut up. We're still on our way with the Heart Crew. Mr. Trafalgar Law here is a doctor as well and has asked to treat Artor…" Sebastian's message was cut off by Ofuri's ragged voice,  
"You know what the young mistress has said."  
"I know but he's insisting."  
"Continue to deny. Artoria will be just fine." Ofuri said and hung up.  
"Sorry Mr. Trafalgar." Sebastian muttered Law shrugged his shoulders and turned his back to the man,  
"If she dies, it's not my fault." Law stated. The rest of the trip was uneventful and quiet. Law quietly wished that Artoria was conscious, he wanted to ask her about her powers.

The sun had fully set and snow was falling at a quick rate as the wagon pulled into the circular driveway in front of the Vicinity Manor. As soon as the wagon had come to a complete stop, a horde of people came rushing out. Two rushed over to Artoria and whisked her away. Others started undoing the various buckles and belts that were attached to the horse team and lead the team to some stables. Another took Artoria's horse towards the stables as well. The Heart Pirates unloaded from the wagon and were approached by an older man in a suit.  
"Welcome Heart Pirates." He said and gave a swift bow. "Please follow me, would you like to be shown the rooms first or receive a meal?" He asked, Law looked back at his crew. A majority of them shrugged and shuffled awkwardly about.  
"Show us the rooms first, then the meal." Law decided for his men. The old man nodded and began walking into the building.  
"You'll have to forgive the mess." He said and opened the main doors that led into the foyer. Law was about to question why would there even be a mess in the first place, but when the doors opened he understood. There were books everywhere. They littered the coffee tables and end tables, even some of the seats had books stacked on them. "Artoria is researching the beast, and other things." Ofuri explained and began to walk through the small foyer and into the much larger main room, followed closely by the Heart Pirates. "She asked us not to touch the books." He added,  
'_An answer to a question I never asked._' Law thought, looking down at the man.

The group began to ascend the stairs on the east side of the room, then went up the second set of stairs that branched off to the left of the first set, finally group took an immediate left entering a corridor. Law spotted some more books and rolls of paper as they walked farther down the corridor, on the right were three doors, and the left side was open to the large room from earlier.  
"The last door at the end of this hall leads into the bedrooms." Ofuri stated as he opened the door. Past the door were approximately five doors, then the hall took a turn to the left which most likely lead to more rooms. "Each room has two full beds in them." Ofuri described as he and the group walked through the hall, "as you can see there's five rooms here, but farther down the hall there's five other rooms including Master Artoria's." Law nodded and looked back at his crew,  
"Pair off into these rooms." He ordered, "I don't care who's with who," he added. Ofuri lead the pirate crew further down the hall and soon everyone had paired up and situated themselves in their rooms. In the end, there were more rooms than people. So Law, Bepo, and Jean Bart could have their own rooms if they wanted.  
"Whose room is this at the end?" Law asked as a couple of men entered the room their words were hushed.  
"That would be Master Artoria's." Ofuri said. Law didn't say anything and entered the room he would be staying in.  
Ofuri followed Law into his room, when Law turned the question the old man. Ofuri said,  
"Dinner would be ready in a few minutes. I shall send someone to summon you all. Artoria most likely will not join you guys." He said and left the room, the door clicked shut behind him. Law frowned, Artoria caught his interest but due to her injuries that she had obtained. She would most likely be bed ridden for the next few days. Someone knocking at his door interrupted his thoughts.

"Dinner's ready." Law made no noise as he opened the door, startling the poor young maid. "P-P-Please follow me sir." She stuttered and walked down the hall. Law looked behind him as he watched a few men walk out of Artoria's room. They seemed uninterested in the pirate captain as they walked right by them. Law was able to pick up parts of their conversation before they sped walked out of ear shot,  
"Artoria's ability is amazing!"  
"I agree!"  
'_They must be talking about her devil fruit power…could it be to summon weapons? That would be an unusual one…quite useful to me though…_' He smirked, somewhere in his mind he couldn't help but think that he's seen her somewhere before. "Hey." Law said, startling the maid before him, "does Artoria have a devil fruit power?" He got straight to the point.  
"I-I…I'm n-n-not sup-posed to…"  
"To tell me, right." Law sighed, having enough of this woman's stuttering. "Could I see Artoria after dinner?" He asked, the maid shook her head violently.  
"NO! Absolutely not! Unless invited in, Artoria does not like her personal space intruded upon!" She said, her stutter now gone. A bead of sweat dripped down his face, very well he'll have to wait later then.  
"Very well then…How long until the log pose sets on this island?" He asked,  
"A-About a week." The maid stuttered in a low voice, Law rolled his eyes. Unless repeating orders the maid constantly stuttered. Hearing the chattering of his crew broke his concentration, it seemed that they were approaching the dining room. Two of his crew were loudly cooing and flirting with the maids.  
"Shachi-ya, Penguin-ya. Please don't cause any more trouble for Artoria's staff." Law sighed, the two men in questioned stopped their squabbling and began playing with their food in embarrassment. The rest of the evening was uneventful, other than Law informing his crew about when the log pose will be set.

Ofuri had walked into Artoria's room with a tea tray in his hands. Artoria was currently wearing a sports bra and a pair of comfy shorts, her entire stomach was bandaged as well as her legs and hands. Artoria was sitting on one of her sofas in her sitting room a book settled on her lap. Her legs were propped up on the table in front of her and on the end table beside her was an empty tea cup.  
"Master Artoria. Trafalgar Law request permission to enter your library." Artoria let out a hum and flipped the page she was finished reading.  
"He may enter it." She said not sparing Ofuri a glance as she flipped another page.  
"He's also been asking if you ate a devil fruit." He said as he replaced Artoria's empty cup with a full one as well as setting a plate of tea cookies down as well. Artoria let out a small laugh,  
"I suppose he would be. He did witness me fight Amarok." Artoria looked up from her book and gave the man a small smile. "I shouldn't be walking around but perhaps you could go grab it for me. I need the book on the Sapphire Head. I believe it's within my father's collections, in his old office." Artoria requested, Ofuri ruffled the noble's long white hair with affection.  
"I'd be glad to grab it for you, Artoria." He said. Ofuri had always been like a grandfather to Artoria, ever since she was a young girl. Her father had always been busy with his expeditions and her mother died when she was young. So Ofuri and the house maids have always taken care of her.  
"Thank you Ofuri." She whispered and went back to reading, occasionally taking small sips from her tea. Ofuri bowed and then left the noble to her reading. As he opened the door Law was leaning against the opposite wall, and amused smirk on his face.

"She allowed you to enter her library." Ofuri stated and walked out of the bedroom quarters. Earning a hum from Law, who staid leaning against the wall until he deemed it time to follow Ofuri to the Library.  
"Is she assigning you to watch over me while I sit in there? So I don't steal anything?" Law asked in an amused tone,  
"No." Ofuri stated, "She just assigned me to retrieve a book for her while I'm there. Other than that, you will be by yourself. Why? Should we assign someone to watch you?" He asked. Law's smirk increased,  
"No. It's surprising how trust worthy she can be." He said and he put his hands in his pockets. '_I'm still curious as to who she has sailed with though…and what connections she has. They could be other nobles…_' He thought, his face paling at the thought of having to interact with snarky nobility. '_Or they could be some of the Four Emperors…or the Warlords…_' His smirk returned to his face.

The trip to the library was silent for the most part, Law was mentally mapping out the route. The duo entered the first door that you arrive in front of when you go up the second set of stairs, this corridor is a mirror image of the bedroom quarter's hall. The library was situated at the final door in the hall. As Ofuri opened the room Law inspected the room, it was floor to ceiling bookshelves with a desk that was at the far end of the room, and facing away from a bay window that over looked the backyard. '_Impressive maze_,' Law thought as he walked towards the windows. As he walked further into the room, he noticed that there was also a second level that led into an office. Ofuri walked into this office and soon emerged with a book in his hands.  
"'_Legends of Demonic Artifacts'_?" Law smirked, "Now what would Miss. Artoria want with a book like that?" He taunted, Ofuri said nothing as he exited the library. Leaving Law to scowl by himself. One of the things he hated most in this world was being ignored. Deciding to ignore it, he began to start at one wall and work his way around. He wasn't looking for anything in particular, but he thought that she could have some sort of medical books. He briefly regretted not asking Ofuri if Artoria even owned any medical books. He soon got over it as his eyes grazed over a title of a medical journal he hadn't had the opportunity to read yet.  
'_Perfect._' He thought and grabbed the journal along with a couple other journals by the same guy and made himself comfortable at the desk. Hastily scribbled notes didn't go unnoticed by him when he sat. His fingers gently picked up the piece of paper as his grey eyes scanned over the sloppy hand writing. It was obvious whoever wrote this was taking notes on something.  
"_Sapphire Head. New World. Dr. Vegapunk? Contact: Whi-_" That's all he could make out on the paper.  
"Sapphire Head?" Law muttered to himself, not hearing the words before. Giving a shrug he put the note back and began reading the medical journals.

"He seemed curious about why you would be needing this book." Ofuri reported handing Artoria the book in question.  
"I'm not surprised." She muttered, "He probably doesn't know about what I'm looking for anyway. He's a rookie." She smiled but a yawn broke out of her mouth. "But I guess I'll have to save my searching tomorrow morning." She muttered, rubbing her eye with the back of her right hand. "Make sure it's pancakes for breakfast tomorrow, please!" Artoria smiled up at the old man.  
"Of course Master Artoria." He said with a bow. "Would you like someone to bring up your breakfast?"  
"That won't be necessary." Artoria said, "Good Night Ofuri."  
"Good Night Master Artoria." With another bow, Ofuri walked out of her room. Leaving Artoria to prepare herself for bed.


	3. Breakfast Discussion

"T-Trafalgar L-Law was not in his room this m-morning." The stuttering maid said, not looking Ofuri in the eyes.  
"Check the library, he's probably still in there." Ofuri said, not looking up from his clipboard, the maid nodded swiftly and began her short journey to the library.  
Law had been in the library since late last night. His readings went from medical journals to anything relating to whatever that 'Sapphire Head' scribbled on that note. Curiosity had gotten the best of him,  
'_Why would Artoria be looking for something like this?_' He thought as his eyes scanned over the information before him, '_this is something I don't get…_' He confessed to himself, '_According to this text, the Sapphire Head is an ancient artifact that grants the user more power, speed, and longevity…but only if the user had some unknown prerequisites._' Letting out an annoyed sigh, Law looked up at the ceiling. Blinking a few times, "I'll probably need that book Ofuri was holding…" He started but his sentence faded out as his eyes glanced at the opening to the office on the upper level of the library. "There could be more in there…" He muttered and started to get up. The library door opened and the frantic stuttering maid from the previous day had entered, Law had to force himself not to release an annoyed sigh when he made eye contact with the maid.  
"A-Ah! There you are Mr. T-Trafalgar L-L-Law." She said her eyes darting from making contact with him to the ground. Relief was evident in her tone. "P-P-Please acc-accompany me to the d-dining hall. B-Breakfast w-will be served in just a few min-minutes." She bowed towards the Dark Doctor. Law nodded and began following the maid.

* * *

The dining area was on the same level as the library, but instead of taking the left stairway from the main one, you walked up the right set and went through the middle door. The dining room was immediately there, instead of long hall like in the library or bedding halls. Inside the dining hall was grand with a long oak table centered in the room, and enough chairs to hold a large banquet. When they had their first meal here last night, Law had asked Ofuri if Artoria took all her meals here. Ofuri had said that Artoria usually ate her dinner in her room or prepared it herself late in the night when she's up all night reading.  
As soon as Law entered the room Penguin and Shachi had quieted down, letting the maids serve the food. What interested Law more was that on the other end of the table rested a newspaper and a steaming cup of coffee. Law was about the go grab the paper but Ofuri's words stopped him,  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Artoria likes to read it first thing in the morning."  
"Then why is it here and not in her room?" He asked in a rough tone of voice, but he got his answer when the dining hall's doors opened again revealing Artoria.  
"Because I'm going to eat breakfast with you all this morning." She said, holding up a hand at rushing maids. "I'm fine. I don't need any help getting there, just deliver the food please." She said kindly, the maids slowly nodded and went back to serving breakfast.  
"How are you up and walking?" Law asked, his eyes traveling to her bandaged torso and legs. Artoria shrugged, a smirk was present on her face.  
"I guess the wounds weren't as bad as originally thought…" She walked by Law and the rest of the Heart Pirates, without any struggles or showing any pain as she walked over to her spot. "I requested that pancakes were made this morning, I hope that's fine with everyone." She sat down, flipping open the paper and ignoring the many stares she was receiving. Luffy was on the front cover, he apparently went back to Marineford and paid tribute to his fallen brother and Whitebeard. Biting her lip she folded the paper back up and nodded to Ofuri,  
"Sorry Artoria, I should've looked beforehand."  
"It's not an issue Ofuri." She interrupted him softly by raising her left hand.

"Whoa…you're really pretty." One of the Heart crew said, his face was hidden by his black hat that wrote out 'Penguin', Artoria hid her smile behind her hand.  
"Thank you Mr.…"  
"Penguin…just Penguin is fine Miss. Artoria." He said looking down at his plate.  
"Alright, _just_ Penguin," she winked which caused Penguin's face got even more red, "You don't need to be formal with me either." Penguin nodded swiftly as Artoria began eating her food. She waited until all the food in her mouth was swallowed before she spoke again, "again if you have any dietary needs please feel free to inform me or Ofuri." The crew nodded. There was a minute-long pause before someone said anything,  
"I don't like bread." Law spoke up, eyeing his small plate of toast angrily, "so if you could avoid giving me…toast. That'd be great." He said Ofuri nodded and took the small plate containing the mentioned item away from Law's food.  
"Is a dietary issue or is it a preference?" Artoria asked tilting her head slightly, when Law didn't say anything she waved over Ofuri, "avoid giving him anything with gluten in it." Ofuri nodded and went to take Law's plate of pancakes as well as going to tell the chef to make gluten free pancakes.  
"Your wounds should have made you bed ridden for at least three days." Law said, locking eyes with the white-haired noble. '_That white hair…looks familiar._' He thought, '_white hair and pink eyes…_'  
"You're not wrong." Artoria muttered and took a sip of her coffee, "would you like to see the wounds now Mr. Trafalgar? I could use another doctor's opinion." Her statement caused Law to look at her with confusion,  
"Are you a doctor?" He asked. She shook her head,  
"Oh no! I meant that my house's doctor had taken a look at them this morning. But if you seem to be hung up on the state of my cuts, then I'll have you look at them." She said and pushed her chair away from the table. She proceeded to untie the bandages around her legs, letting the fabric fall to the floor. She then stood up from her seat and proceed to walk over to where Law could get a better view.  
"Unbelievable." He muttered his eyes narrowing at the sight before him, what were deep gashes last night were nothing but narrow red scratches. "That's an incredible healing rate." He whispered a hand reaching out to touch one of the now faint scratches, Artoria backed up.  
"I didn't say you could touch." She whispered and took her spot again, Law had to bite down a growl.  
"What about your stomach? What happened there?" He asked taking a drink from his own mug of coffee.  
"There was some internal damage, so I had the doctor go in and seal the major wounds." She admitted and took a bite from her food.  
"So I imagine that your internal wounds are no longer there then?" Law asked watching Artoria's reaction. Her now narrowed, pale pink eyes locked with his grey ones.  
"I guess they wouldn't." She said, Law was just about to suggest that she take off her bandages but a couple maids rushed in carrying five books each.  
"Here you are Miss. Artoria. The books you requested this morning." The one on the left said as the pair placed the books onto the table next to Artoria's plate.  
"Ah, thank you Mira and Jane." Artoria said a genuine smile on her face, this time not hidden by her hand.

"What a beautiful smile…" Shachi whispered to Penguin who began nodding furiously again. The rest of the crew watched Artoria as she began opening one of the ten books and file through it. Seeing as the first one didn't obtain the information she wanted she went onto the next one, the cycle repeated for a few minutes before Law spoke up again,  
"Isn't it rude to ignore your guest at the table?" He asked with an amused smirk, Artoria let the page she was holding fall and looked up at the amused captain.  
"I suppose you're right." She sighed, "And I also suppose you have questions for me Dr. Trafalgar?"  
"You're right… I want to know more about your power and more about Amarok." He said, Artoria mentally sighed. It seemed Law was the type to not beat around the bush.  
"I'm not going to tell you about my powers." She stated and earned a hard glare from the captain. Choosing to ignore the deadly glare from the Supernova, Artoria continued, "But I will tell you more about Amarok. He appeared a few weeks ago, exactly a week after the War of the Best, before I had arrived back on this island the beast had claimed the lives of at least 100 villagers." She said and glanced at the open book before her, on the page was a hastily sketched image of a large black wolf. "There's not a lot of information to go off of, but his first appearances were during heavy snow storms. Now I guess he seems to appear whenever he wants." She sighed, resting her head in her right palm. Her eyes now locking with Law's, "I suppose the only thing _to_ do now is kill the beast, but it's hard if I can't find him. And when I do, the events always play out much like the other night, I end up wounding him pretty bad then he just fucks off." She muttered, looking down at her food as she shoved it around with a fork. Before picking up the last piece of her pancakes and eating it.  
'_She was at the War of the Best…I'm sure of it._' Law thought as Artoria was going over the details about Amarok. '_The log pose sets within six more days. I want Artoria on my crew. If she was at the War of the Best and lived, then there's no way that she doesn't know the Whitebeard Crew and she'll know more about what happened. Plus she's obviously a skilled fighter._' Law let out a hum, Artoria's attention went straight onto him,  
"Something wrong, Doctor?" She asked while raising an eyebrow. Law looked up at her and smirked,  
"If I and my crew were to assist you in taking down this beast, would you join my crew?" He asked. A chorus of surprised sounds from his crew soon followed his request, Ofuri went to take a step but was stopped by Artoria's left hand being raised. Artoria's eyes never broke contact with Law's.  
"Why do you want me to join? Is it so when after you leave you can bombard with questions about my powers? Or operate on my unconscious body~?" She asked obviously in amusement but Law couldn't help but feel angry as hi jaw began to tighten. "You know about my powers?" He asked,  
"I know a lot." She confessed as her hands gripped her coffee mug, the warmth of the liquid warmed her palms and proceeded to calm her down somewhat, "The supernovas held my interest, so I did a little digging and found some pretty interesting things." She took a drink from her coffee. Since the once hot liquid was more chilled, she took another big gulp. Law's eyes narrowed at the woman before him as she continued talking, "and plus word circulates around, especially for Supernova crews, so obtaining some information isn't too hard. Chill." She muttered looking at the various faces of the Heart Pirates, now realizing that all of them wore hats that obstructed their faces. The only members that didn't wear hats were the large man and Bepo. "Are hats a requirement?" She asked with amusement,

"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't ignore my question first." Law demanded, his eyes burning holes at the woman.  
"Oh? I'm sorry I wasn't listening, what was your question?" She asked and looked back at Law.  
'_I'm almost starting to reconsider having her join._' He thought before exhaling in an attempt to calm himself down, but seeing Artoria's amused look was a sign that she was doing this on purpose and he felt his anger rise up again.  
"I had asked, what else have you learned of me and my crew?" The Heart Pirates were getting fidgety now, they knew their captain was pissed and they didn't want to be around when he unleashed his anger. They also didn't' want to be rude and just leave their half-eaten breakfast.  
"Not a lot, I feel as though I have to dig around in some Marine documents in order to learn more. But all I found out is that you and your crew came from the North Blue, and what your fruit abilities allow you to do." She said, leaning her head against the palm of her left hand. Giving Law a bored stare. "Honestly not a lot, oh and I guess what civilians think of you too, via rumors and what not."  
"Oh? What do they say?" He asked, amusement heavy in his voice. Artoria had to force herself not to roll her eyes.  
"Just that you're pretty much ruthless and mega insane, you will not hesitate to cut up anyone or anything that gets in your way." She said, tilting her head more to the side as she quickly became uninterested in boosting his ego anymore. All the while Law just held his amused look.  
"They're not wrong." He said, leaning back in his chair.  
"Captain is really strong!" A crew member said, looking straight into Artoria's eyes. His eyes were a piercing blue and he wore a light grey newsboy hat, bright blonde hair stuck out of the bottom of the hat. Artoria raised up an eyebrow, "he could probably beat you in a fight any day." The member said, Artoria's head lifted out of her hand and just gave the crew member a blank stare she continued to stare at the young man until he looked away from her.  
"Captain Law is undoubtedly strong, but I don't know if he's strong enough to beat me." She said, resting her head in the other hand. "After all, I'm pretty strong too." She smirked and locked eyes with the Captain of the Heart Pirates who mimicked her look. Artoria soon returned her attention back to the books in front of her as her guests finished their breakfast.  
"Excuse me, Artoria?" Penguin spoke up, earning the attention of everyone in the room. Artoria found a good stopping point in her book and looked up,  
"Yes?"  
"What areas in the manor are we permitted to enter?" He asked, she hadn't thought about what they all could do.  
"Well. There's the backyard I suppose. If you're looking for something to do, but I don't know if the gate is open to the maze…she muttered, looking down at her book. She looked back at Ofuri, "Is the pool up and running again?" Ofuri nodded, she smiled and looked back at the now highly excited pirate crew. "Well we have a pool and a gym too. As well as the library." She stood up from her spot. "I'll show you guys around." She smiled and went towards the doorway. The sound of chairs scraping against the marble floor filled the air. Not looking back at the pirates that were tailing her, Artoria made her way into the large open area filled with books. Stopping in the middle of room she waited until all the pirates were within hearing distance of her before explaining the two doors on either side of the fireplace on the south wall.  
"The door on the left here leads to the gym whereas the door on the right leads to the pool, there's an underwater tunnel that connects the two rooms." She explained and proceeded towards the right door.  
"Yo, Penguin you think that Artoria will swim with us if we ask her?" Shachi asked his friend. Penguin's face matched the shade of red that his friend held as well,  
"I sure hope so," He said a large grin on his face as his imagination conjured up an image of the busty white haired noble in a really skimpy bikini.

* * *

The right door that the noble lead them through proceeded into a short narrow hallway that took a left turn. At the end of the turn of the hall a large room with a rather deep pool was in the center, a smaller more shallow pool was attached to the larger one. Marble columns stood at the corners of the main pool, along the sides of the wall there were intricate statues of fishes. There appeared to be a couple of changing rooms at the other end of the pool room. A large hanging plant was placed high above the pool. There seemed to be a couple of balconies on an upper level but there was no visible way to get up to them.  
"It's a heated pool, but I think it's broken at the moment." Artoria explained as she walked further into the room. "The smaller pool is for fruit users." A small smile made its way onto her face. "It's also a hot tub too, I know it works."  
"A-Artoria?" Penguin asked, she turned back towards him a small smile on her face,  
"Yes?"  
"Would you swim with us sometime?" He asked some of the crew held their breath, hoping that the noble would agree.  
"Maybe." She said, "I have to do some more research, but I might later." She smiled as some of the crew loudly rejoiced in her answer. "Well, I'll leave you all to it, there's men's swimwear in the left changing room over there. Help yourselves." She said and began to walk out of the pool room being followed closely by Law. "Doctor Trafalgar?" She asked as she stopped walk and looked back at the man in question.  
"You said if I helped you take down Amarok, you would join my crew." He stated, a large smirk on his face, Artoria had to stop herself from rolling her eyes.  
"Of course, then come with me." She said and the pair continued their way to the library.

* * *

**Hey everyone, I'd like to thank the people who have been following this story. uvu Also I'd like to apologize because I am absolute shit at describing rooms. **


	4. Lunch Time Interrogation

The pair had been in the library for hours now. Law was situated at the main level desk whereas Artoria was on the upper lever, leaning against the railing her nose currently buried in a book on local mythos.

"So, do you have any idea where Amarok came from?" He asked, glancing up from the book in front of him. All the books he had read so far weren't giving him anything new.  
"Sadly, I don't. That's the main reason I've been digging through all these books." She admitted, "The citizens have just reported it within the past weeks." She turned to face him. Closing the book with her left hand, she ran her right hand through her hair. "My plan is just to find him before he gets to the village again and take him out. But the island is huge and hunting him down would just be too time consuming." She admitted, peering down at the dark doctor.  
"Then just waiting for him to attack would be the best solution." Law said, crossing his arms over the book. The noble nodded back,  
"I suppose." She sighed, and stretched. As she placed the book back on the shelf, a small smile made its way onto her face, '_maybe a swim is in order._' She soon turned and made her way down the stairs. "I need to relax, I'm going to take a dive." She said and walked out the room, not waiting for Law's response.  
'_I have to see this, she can't swim because of her Devil Fruit…if she has one.'_ Law thought and quickly stood up to go to the pool room they were all shown earlier.

The Heart Pirates were having a great time just splashing and creating stupid water games. The sound of the door opening went unnoticed until Bepo spoke up,  
"Hello Captain." The other Heart Pirates looked up at the arrival of their captain. The man in question observed the faces of his crew, the one he was searching for was not here.  
"Is Artoria not in here?" He asked, a murmur amongst the crew began to surface.  
"Artoria was supposed to be here?" A man asked, Penguin and Shachi looked at one another in excitement. Another member was about to ask a question but a sound beneath the surface of the pool caught their attention. There was a rather large golden colored vent that was situated on the eastern wall of the pool, it started to open up and not long after the vent opened, Artoria swam through. Her long white hair flowed behind her as the crew remained silent.  
"She's like a mermaid." Shachi whispered,  
"Aaahh! Is that a one piece swimsuit?" Penguin whined soon the other men also let out a chorus of disappointed moans. Once Artoria surfaced, Penguin and Shachi swam over to her exclaiming their happiness of the fact that Artoria had decided to join them. Her laughter mixed with the voices of overly excited men.  
"So you don't have a Devil Fruit then?" Law asked over the voices of his crew, which had begun to die down because of his statement. Artoria glanced back at the Supernova, she smiled and closed her eyes and leaned her head on Shachi's shoulder. Causing the recipient to stiffen.  
"I never said I had a Devil Fruit power, you just assumed." She mused, cracking an eye open to peer at the slightly angry Captain. Smirking, Artoria pushed her body closer to Shachi, who received a bunch of angry glares from his crew members.  
"When you join the crew," Law started, his eyes glaring down at Artoria, "you'll have to tell me what your powers are…and what exactly this _Sapphire Head_ is." Law commanded, Artoria now glared at him.  
"I suppose you're right." She muttered, "I don't appreciate the fact that you looked at my notes on my desk, but I bet I just left them out in the open…" She breathed.  
"Now, if you could remove yourself from my mechanic. He's going to pass out." Law said and proceeded to leave the room.  
"Eh?" She questioned and glanced over at Shachi, Artoria saw that he was a lot more pale than usual. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry." She laughed and swam away from him and proceeded to hoist herself out of the pool.

"So tell me about your captain, what's he like?" She asked, leaning back on her hands.  
"Well he kinda comes off as an asshole, but he's a pretty good guy really." Penguin explained. The others were hesitant but soon began to nod, "he cares about his crew." Artoria smiled,  
"That's good." She whispered, "Captains who care for their crew are the best kinds." She said wistfully gazing up at the large plant above the pool. The short trip into her memories were interrupted by a voice,  
"The, Sapphire Head." The large crew member spoke up casing Artoria and the rest of the Heart Pirates to glance over at him, "are you sure you want to find for it?" He asked and Artoria produced a large grin.  
"I am one hundred percent sure I want to find for it, and I've been searching for years in fact Mr..?"  
"Jean Bart." He stated,  
"Mr. Jean Bart."  
"I've only heard rumors about that Devil's Artifact." He spoke as Artoria nodded,  
"It's a rather powerful and sought out item," She explained, "it's not a surprise that you've heard of it somewhere in your travels. Pirates along the Grand Line and especially in the New World would kill to get their hands on them." She continued explaining, "The Sapphire Head is a stone that grants the user increased longevity and an increased healing rate, but only if they meet the requirements for the Sapphire Head. If the user doesn't, their soul will be added to the stone. Increasing the amount of power to give to the user that earns the power." She tilted her head slightly to the left and gave a small smile to the small audience before her.  
"You've been researching this for quite some time then." Penguin muttered. Artoria gave a swift nod.  
"Yeah, ever since my father passed I've been continuing his search." She mumbled the small smile shrank a little at the thought of her Father, "truth be told, I was searching for it way before he died too. He gave me permission to go out on my own and search for it even."

There was a pause in the conversation at this point, Artoria went back to gazing at the potted plant above the pool as the rest of the Heart Pirates either treaded water or sat on the other end of the pool taking in what Artoria had said. Ever since they started their pirate journey, no one has heard about this sort of artifact until now. It was possible for someone in the crew to be searching for this sort of thing and keep the information for themselves. They _were_ pirates after all and trust is a hard thing to come by now. Event their Captain could be searching for this "Sapphire Head" too, but…wait. He had commanded her that she would have to tell him about why she is on the hunt for this artifact once she joined the crew, so there was no way that he could be on the lookout for this artifact then.

Artoria let out a sigh and fully got out of the pool earning a few protests from the rest of the men. Winking at the group she promised that she in swimwear would be a constant thing once she joins. The protests turned into cheers. They were still cheering as she left the pool room. The first thing she saw was Law leaning on the wall near the door.  
"I'm not surprised that you're still sticking around." She admitted with a smirk as she shut the door behind her, not making eye contact with him. The Dark Doctor just let out a hum in response.  
"You're getting awfully chummy with them." He stated peering over at the noble. She continued to not look at him and began to walk on ahead.  
"Well I might as well attempt to get along with them." She mused as Law pushed himself off the wall to follow her.  
As Artoria exited the pool hallway she was met with Ofuri and a few of the house staff. Law was a few steps behind her but expresses the same amount of confusion as the noble in front of him.  
"Artoria. You have a guest waiting for you in your room." Ofuri stated and gave the noble a bow.  
"Thank you Ofuri." When she replied there was no emotion in her voice when she said that. Which gave Law the feeling that she knew exactly who it was. Artoria began to move herself towards her room. Law stood in front of the pool hall briefly wondering for a moment to decide on what he was going to do next. Ofuri and the few remaining staff stared at Law with curious glances. Ignoring the stares he moved some of the books off one of the chairs in front of the fireplace and put himself in the now vacant spot.

Artoria walked into the library. Her hair still dripping wet but it didn't matter to her, her eyes narrowed at the back of the leather office chair. She slammed the door behind her, notifying the visitor of her presence.  
"I'm very aware of your presence my dear Artoria." The male said and swung around in the chair, giving the noble a very perplexed look. "A one piece swim suit? Man there must be something you're hiding…you almost always wear bikinis." He laughed.  
"What do you need?" Artoria demanded, "I really don't need you here right now. Seeing as I'm currently in the middle of dealing with-"  
"With what? The crisis of that Amarok beast or entertaining a bunch of pirates?" He asked. "I'm here on business in fact. I got some information for you that you might like." He reported and stood up from the chair, letting out a groan in the process. "I found a couple of maps and some contact information but how on earth will you get off this island? Now that you're last captain sort of kicked the bucket? And what did you tell the remnants of that crew that you wouldn't join another crew and stay at home. But now what's the word I've heard that you're going to join the Heart Pirates after they help you diminish the beast?" with each word he stepped closer until his chest pressed up against Artoria's.  
"What I do with my life isn't your business. It never has been." She snapped and gave him a light push.  
"We share a bond you and I." He muttered leaning his head down next to her ear,  
"I don't give a rat's ass about that." She said and walked around the man. Artoria made her way to the desk chair.

The man stood at least a head taller than Artoria herself. He had shaggy white hair and piercing blue eyes. He was very muscular and deliberately choice to never wear a shirt, just a leather strap across his chest which held a few knifes and a black gun. Artoria has known him for a few years now and he's been the main source of info on opposing pirate crews and even gave her some information on any sort of relic she would be researching on at the time.  
"Now Artoria. Babe. How are you gonna pay me for this info I brought ya?" He asked, a lazy smirk was plastered onto his face as he sauntered up to the noble. "Now that you ain't with crew, means you don't got any sort of man havin' a hold on ya." He walked right in front of her and slipped a few fingers under the strap of her swimsuit. She pushed his hand away.  
"Don't touch me." Artoria hissed and glared up at the man. "As far as I know you haven't presented me with the material so there's nothing to "pay" you for anyway." The man clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.  
"Uptight bitch." He muttered and backed away from her a small smirk on his face, "you ain't my type anyway. I like blondes." He stated,  
"I feel sorry for any woman that has to be near you." She whispered a mirroring smirk on her face. "Anyway, the maps and other stuff?" She inquired as her guest sat on her desk, carelessly sitting on papers and pushing books off the desk so he could make more room. The man fished around in the knapsack that he brought with him and pulled out some rolled up and worn out looking parchment.  
"Here's your damn maps and shit." He muttered and tossed them on the desk. Artoria smirked and gathered up what he dropped.  
"Thank you~" She purred and looked over some of the maps. "This is perfect." She whispered as her eyes rapidly scanned the markings. "Oh Mori this is perfect!" She exclaimed and shot up from her spot with a wide grin on her face. Mori rolled his eyes and scoffed.  
"I know. I know. Well, without this stuff you wouldn't be as strong as me." He retorted, earning a light hearted slap from the woman.  
"Fuck off." She chuckled. "Is that all you came here for?" Mori nodded.  
"Yeah I got other places to be." He groaned and rubbed the back of his neck. "Wish I could stay and chat. But hey I also don't want to help you out with your problems." He said and made his way out of the library. "Have fun with your new crew." He called out. Artoria rolled her eyes and sat back down in the chair, reading over the maps and the books the man had brought over.

As Mori made his way out of the library and back into the main room, his gaze locked with Law's icy gaze.  
"Trafalgar Law. Captain of the Heart Pirates." Mori descended the stairs putting an emphasis on each syllable of the 'Heart Pirates'.  
"You are?"  
"Mori. Not that it matter to you." He sighed, observing the mess around the room. "She's really messy when it comes to research. Just so you know." Mori left, ignoring Law's response. Law stared up at the doorway leading to the hall that connected to the library. Was he expecting Artoria to come out soon to tell him about who that was, what he wanted.

Artoria stepped out of the passage way and into her own room. The hidden door closing behind her. Bless her dad for creating secret passages connecting different parts of the manor together, so you could effectively ignore anyone you didn't want to come in contact with.

Law entered the library expecting the white haired noble, sitting at the desk in her swimwear looking over something. But what he found was absolutely nothing. Thinking for a minute that maybe she was in the up in the upstairs office. But when he walked into that office and saw no one he was now concerned about where she went. Had she even been in this room? She had to have been the guest emerged from this hall and the library was the only room in this hall. Sitting at the upstairs desk he looked around, maybe there was some secret passage way? It was most likely probable. His thoughts were interrupted by the door opening below him.  
"Mister Law?" It was Ofuri. "Lunch will be prepared in a few minutes so if you want to make your way to the dining room. That would be much appreciated." Ofuri's footsteps faded out of the room and the door shut again. Law let out another sigh and stood up from his chair.

Lunch was uneventful. The crew was chatting away about whatever they wanted as Law was silently eating his rice balls. Artoria had changed out of her swimwear –much the rest of the men's chagrin- and tied her hair up into a ponytail. There were books in front of her when Law and the rest of the crew had entered the dining room. She was too preoccupied in her reading that it took the sound of one of Shachi's massive burps to bring her attention to the gathered audience.  
"So who was that man from earlier? Mori was it?" Law asked. Artoria had pulled herself back into her book and only let out a hum when Law asked his question.  
"He's an old…acquaintance of mine." She answered after a long pause. "He helps me acquire some news or dig up some sort of old piece of history."  
"Alright, another thing." Law insisted and Artoria looked up from her book with an impatient look. He wasn't even her captain yet but still insists on ordering her around.  
"You weren't in the library when I went there after your…acquaintance left." He said, the crew had gotten quiet at this point. Artoria fully turned her attention to Law. She was about to give her answer when one of the town's folk rushed into the room, earning the attention of the dining residence.

"Master Artoria!" The man breathed out. Some of the maid rushed towards him, one had a glass of water. "It's him." Artoria's breath hitched in her throat.

"Amarok." She whispered.

* * *

**Sorry if it's kinda quick. I felt bad that I haven't updated in a while uvu; Anyway I hope you enjoy!**


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